Oracle is the second studio album by Canadian heavy metal band Kittie, released on November 12, 2001, by Artemis Records. The band recorded the album as a three-piece following the departure of co-founding guitarist and vocalist Fallon Bowman, who was replaced by touring guitarist Jeff Phillips, at EMAC Recording Studios with producer Garth Richardson between July and August 2001. Categorized as death metal, nu metal, and thrash metal, Oracle has been described as an angrier, more aggressive and extreme album than Kittie's debut album Spit (1999). It was Kittie's only album with bassist Talena Atfield, who left the band four months after its release.
Upon release, Oracle received mixed reviews from critics, whom acknowledged Kittie's musical growth but were divided on the quality of the album's songwriting. Retrospective reviews have been more favourable. The album debuted at number 57 on the US Billboard 200 chart, selling 33,000 copies in its opening week, and also made appearances on the German and UK Albums Charts. By 2004, it had sold 220,000 copies in the United States. Kittie embarked on an international tour in support of Oracle that ran from August 2001 to February 2003; the band committed to extended touring as they felt it had not been publicized enough.
==Background and recording==<!-- context, "pain" and "mop" -->
In November 1999, Kittie released their debut album Spit, through Ng Records. Shortly after the album's release, Ng was acquired by Artemis Records, who gave the album a wider release on January 11, 2000. The album was a commercial success, becoming certified Gold by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). In between tours in support of the album, Kittie wrote two new songs; "Pain", whose main riff was composed during soundchecks at Ozzfest, and "Mouthful of Poison". On October 31, 2000, Kittie debuted "Pain" live in San Antonio, Texas. The band played both of their new songs whilst performing on the SnoCore Rock tour in January and February 2001. Guitarist and vocalist Morgan Lander indicated around this time that Kittie's next album would be more aggressive than their debut; in a February 2001 interview with The GW Hatchet, she highlighted the fact Kittie "haven't written [new material] in 4 or 5 years" and acknowledged a change in influence from the band's early days, stating: "Then we listened to bands like Nirvana, Silverchair, and Alice in Chains. Now we listen to stuff like Cannibal Corpse and Nile". In a 2002 interview with Metal Shock, Morgan cited her interest in extreme metal and death metal and the bands Morbid Angel, Slayer, Pantera, and The Dillinger Escape Plan as influences on the songwriting of Oracle.
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Following the SnoCore tour's conclusion on February 17, 2001, Kittie began working on new material in the basement of Morgan and drummer Mercedes Lander's parents' house in London, Ontario. By March 2001, they had written five or six songs. As with Spit, the band wrote the music first, as a "backdrop" to Morgan's vocals. they quickly became stressed and frustrated by attempting to write new material immediately after coming off the road and took a month-long break before trying again. According to Mercedes, the album's songs were completed in pre-production and were not changed during recording. Weeks before recording was due to begin, co-founding member and guitarist Fallon Bowman left Kittie, due to creative differences with Morgan and her own struggles dealing with the band's newfound pressures. On July 1, 2001, Kittie played their first show with guitarist Jeff Phillips, the band's guitar tech, in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Phillips was not identified until Artemis Records released a statement on August 9, 2001, confirming that Kittie would be continuing as a three-piece with him filling in as a touring guitarist; Bowman was not named in the statement.
<!-- recording -->Kittie recorded Oracle at EMAC Recording Studios in London, Ontario with producer Garth Richardson, whom they had both used for Spit, between July 21 and August 14, 2001. As a result of Bowman's departure, Morgan recorded all of Oracle guitar parts herself. Richardson said that recording the album was easier than its writing process due to Morgan and Mercedes "knowing what they wanted to do". In a 2001 interview with Guitar World, Morgan said that the band aimed to make a "straight-ahead metal record. Our attitude was, Don't fuck around; don't play bloops or bleeps". She said the band felt no pressure recording the album as they were confident that its material would surpass Spit. Morgan and bassist Talena Atfield recorded their parts with equipment from their live rigs. The former played a Gibson Flying V and a similarly shaped custom guitar through a Mesa/Boogie Triple Rectifer and occasionally an Egnater, whilst the latter used a five-string B.C. Rich Widow custom bass with an Ampeg B5R amp. The album's mixing process, handled by Randy Staub at The Warehouse Studio in Vancouver, was completed by the end of August 2001. nu metal, and thrash metal. The album contains heavy, chopping guitar riffs and percussion, Drowned in Sound Ollie Appelby stated that the album is focused on presenting music "as [based on] emotion, as power", instead of instrumentation. In a 2024 interview with Metal Hammer, Mercedes described the album as "the complete antithesis of Spit" and Kittie's attempt to lean into a heavier sound. As she had on Spit, Morgan based Oracle lyrics off of her personal experiences, albeit from a broader, less localized perspective. In a 2001 interview with Rock Sound, she said Kittie's songs were about "human relations, interaction, and learning from your mistakes". Nick Catucci of Spin felt the album's lyrics were more introspective than confrontational, whilst Dave Ebner of The Globe and Mail highlighted their ambiguous nature. The lyrics do not feature any swearing, something Morgan said was unintentional but considered representative of her improved self-articulation.